Must-have tools

While doing research for work, I came across this list of seven tools every homeowner should own. (the headline says eight, but you'll notice the numbers skip from six to eight). Want to have little fun? Before you check it out, come up with your own list of eight and see how it compares. Then see how many of them you actually have in your home.

It's a pretty good - if basic - list (What? No power tools?). But it's perfect for someone who's just a dabbler in home improvement. With a few more tools in your arsenal, you'll be ready for those annoying fix-ups that you'll inevitably encounter.

For the record, I'm only missing one. Care to guess what that is?

"Daddy fix"

One of the drawbacks of being even slightly handy is that you build up expectations. In the past, my not-so-handy (or not-handy-at-all) friends and family have often called on me for advice or ask me to help them install or repair something (or even to do it for them). Partly because I like to get all the experience I can, and partly because I've always had trouble saying no, I usually oblige. Not surprisingly, it poses quite a quandary when it comes to my own projects.

While I enjoy helping, these requests have thankfully dried up in the two years since my daughter. People are respectful of the fact that I don't have the time I once did for my own projects - never mind theirs.

This segues perfectly into the new quandary of high expectations - my daughter's.

As she's gotten older, more independent and very, very smart, she's seen me fix a few things, including some of her toys and pop-up books that no longer pop up. I love seeing the expression on her face when she sees Elmo and his daddy back in their rightful place in one of her books. The Baby Einstein book "Jane's Animal Adventures" was a particularly tricky fix, but it's been restored to as close to its original form as humanly possible.

So now, whenever something breaks, she hands it to me and says, "Daddy fix." Flowers, bananas, books, toys - it doesn't make a difference. I love that she looks up to me as a Mr. Fix-It hero who can repair anything.

Aside from the fact that she often seems to break things on purpose with the thought that I'll fix them, the biggest problem is that sometimes Daddy can fix. Sometimes he can't. For example, you can mush a banana back together. But in the case of flowers, tissues or other un-fixables, if a reasonable facsimile can be found, a little sleight of hand usually does the trick.

So in addition to my continuing education in the ways of DIY and home improvement, I'm also getting a self-taught education in magic tricks.

But given how smart this one is proving to be, I have to wonder how long I can get away with that.

Toothpaste for grownups

Ever have to patch drywall? I have, and you know what? For the most part, it's not that hard to do.

The easiest I've ever used is to fill nail (or dart) holes with white toothpaste (ah, college). On a white wall, it can be almost impossible to notice. Do it the night before your landlord comes by for the final walk-through and you should get your security deposit back. Or at least if you don't, the nail holes won't be why.

As an adult male homeowner, toothpaste won't do. So for small-ish holes (i.e. 99 percent of what I've dealt with), I use a marvelous invention called the DAP Patch Stick. It's like the toothpaste trick, just more permanent and durable. And it's for grownups. At less than four bucks a stick, there's no excuse for not having one stowed in the garage or junk drawer. That goes for every household.

(As an aside, the last time I was at Home Depot, I noticed there's now a DAP Stick specifically for nail holes, which costs about a dollar more. Is it worth the difference? I'll let you judge for yourself. Personally, I'm reminded of the Simpsons episode where a company released a "new" version of the Malibu Stacy doll with the only change being that she had a different hat.)

The other grownup method I've used for repairing drywall is much more labor-intensive. Therefore I avoid it as much as possible. If the hole's too big for the DAP Stick (in my estimation, which tends to be much more liberal than DAP's), I have to get out the old drywall mud, slather some on, smooth it as much as possible, wait for it to dry and then sand it smooth. Luckily, I've only had to do this a few times - with varying results.

And most luckily of all, I've never had a hole big enough to require floating a new piece of drywall (knock on wood). That would require a house call/demo from dear old Dad.

Mother Necessity, where would we be?

We've all heard that necessity is the mother of invention. But did you know that home ownership is the granddaddy of necessity? Unless you build a home (and are very active in the design phase), no one buys their dream home. That's a given. So with that in mind, home improvement, repair and maintenance become a necessity. You with me?

When you buy an open-concept loft (especially when it's your first home), those necessities pile up. The gray concrete floors, flat white walls, cheap gray rubber baseboards, nonexistent window sills/trim and more were enough to (almost) drive us mad.

Happily, I've completed all of those projects (except the windowsills, which are in progress). With the notable exception of the floors, I did them all myself. (Aside: we paid someone to acid stain the floors a brown tortoise-shell and seal it with a hard wax. I may think I'm handy, but even I know amateurs shouldn't - for the most part - mess around with hazardous chemicals.)

And that's not all. In coming posts, I'll talk about some of my DIY triumphs, and the inevitable challenges I had to overcome. After all, almost everything I've learned has been through trial-and-error.

Stay tuned.